15-letter words containing en
- audio frequency — a frequency in the range 20 hertz to 20 000 hertz. A sound wave of this frequency would be audible to the human ear
- auditor general — (in Canada) a federal official responsible for auditing government departments and making an annual report
- auf wiedersehen — goodbye, until we see each other again
- augmented roman — a writing system based on an expanded English alphabet, consisting of 43 characters representing different phonemes of spoken English, used for teaching beginners to read. Abbreviation: I.T.A., i.t.a.
- augmented sixth — an interval greater than a major sixth by a chromatic half step.
- authenticatable — to establish as genuine.
- authentications — Plural form of authentication.
- autofluorescent — Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting autofluorescence.
- average revenue — the total receipts from sales divided by the number of units sold, frequently employed in price theory in conjunction with marginal revenue.
- avian influenza — an acute, usually fatal viral disease of chickens and other domestic and wild birds except pigeons, characterized by sudden onset of symptoms including fever, swollen head and neck, bluish-black comb and wattle, and difficult respiration.
- balloon payment — a large payment that concludes a series of smaller payments, for example in order to repay a loan
- ballpeen hammer — a hammer that has one end of its head shaped in a hemisphere for beating metal, etc
- ballpoint (pen) — a pen having, instead of a point, a small ball bearing that picks up its ink by rolling against an interior ink reservoir
- bank of england — the central bank of the United Kingdom, which acts as banker to the government and the commercial banks. It is responsible for managing the government's debt and implementing its policy on other monetary matters: established in 1694, nationalized in 1946; in 1997 the government restored the authority to set interest rates to the Bank
- barycentrically — In a barycentric manner.
- basic statement — protocol (def 6).
- basses-pyrenees — former name of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
- battle hardened — toughened by the experience of battle
- beach goldenrod — a composite plant, Solidago sempervirens, of eastern and southern North America, having a thick stem and large, branched, one-sided terminal clusters of yellow flowers, flourishing on sea beaches or salt marshes.
- beast of burden — A beast of burden is an animal such as an ox or a donkey that is used for carrying or pulling things.
- beat generation — members of the generation that came to maturity in the 1950s, whose rejection of the social and political systems of the West was expressed through contempt for regular work, possessions, traditional dress, etc, and espousal of anarchism, communal living, drugs, etc
- belt-tightening — If you need to do some belt-tightening, you must spend less money and manage without things because you have less money than you used to have.
- ben day process — a method of adding texture, shading, or detail to line drawings by overlaying a transparent sheet of dots or any other pattern during platemaking
- bench scientist — a scientist who does experiments in a laboratory
- benedict arnold — Benedict, 1741–1801, American general in the Revolutionary War who became a traitor.
- benefit concert — a concert to raise money for charity
- benefit in kind — a nonpecuniary benefit, such as a company car or medical insurance, given to an employee
- benefit payment — a payment of money by the government to people who are ill, unemployed, poor or who have children
- benefit society — an organization which, by means of dues, secures for its members certain benefits, such as life insurance, hospitalization, etc.
- benefits agency — an agency that handles the payment of benefits
- benevolent fund — a charitable organization
- benzal chloride — a colorless, oily liquid, C 7 H 6 Cl 2 , used chiefly in the synthesis of benzaldehyde, and in the manufacture of dyes.
- benzoglyoxaline — benzimidazole.
- benzyl benzoate — a colorless, faintly aromatic liquid, C 14 H 12 O 2 , used chiefly as a fixative and solvent in the manufacture of flavorings and perfume and in medicine in the treatment of certain skin conditions.
- benzyl butyrate — a liquid, C 11 H 14 O 2 , having a fruitlike odor, used as a plasticizer and in flavoring.
- benzyl chloride — a colorless, corrosive liquid, C 7 H 7 Cl, used chiefly as an intermediate in the synthesis of benzyl compounds.
- benzyl fluoride — a colorless liquid, C 7 H 7 F, used in organic synthesis.
- berenice's hair — the constellation Coma Berenices
- beta-adrenergic — pertaining to or involving beta receptors
- beyond sb's ken — If something is beyond your ken, you do not have enough knowledge to be able to understand it.
- bioluminescence — the production of light by living organisms as a result of the oxidation of a light-producing substance (luciferin) by the enzyme luciferase: occurs in many marine organisms, insects such as the firefly, etc
- birthing center — a medical facility for the labor and childbirth experience in a family-friendly, homelike environment.
- birthing centre — a private maternity hospital
- blagoveshchensk — a city and port in E Russia, in Siberia on the Amur River. Pop: 222 000 (2005 est)
- blended whiskey — whiskey that is a blend of straight whiskey and neutral spirits or of two or more straight whiskeys
- blending center — A blending center is a place for mixing fluids, gases, and powders.
- blenheim orange — a type of apple tree bearing gold-coloured apples
- blenheim palace — a palace in Woodstock in Oxfordshire: built (1705–22) by Sir John Vanbrugh for the 1st Duke of Marlborough as a reward from the nation for his victory at Blenheim; gardens laid out by Henry Wise and Capability Brown; birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill (1874)
- blossom-end rot — a disease of tomato and pepper caused by a deficiency of calcium, characterized by decay at the blossom end of the fruit.
- border incident — an incident, usually fighting, on a border between countries